Team GT Academy Secure Nürburgring 24hr Class Victory

After 24 hours of all-weather driving and some unbelievable twists and turns, Team GT Academy safely brought home their #123 Nissan GT-R first in their SP8T class and 30th overall.

The result marks a second successive class victory for Kazunori Yamauchi and his 2011 teammates Yasukichi Yamamoto and Tobias Schulze and a first 24hr class victory for GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez. The provisional official results give the team 30th place overall – although they finished the race 32nd overall, some dramatic last second disqualifications elevated the team – with 136 laps completed in 24 hour 5 minutes 56.565 seconds, both improvements on the previous year.

Earlier this morning an exclusive video showing the build-up to and the first half of the race, including exclusive in-car footage, was released on the official Gran Turismo Youtube channel:

GTPlanet member Christhedude’s race was cut short on lap 129 – at the time leading the GT Academy car by just two places – when they were forced to retire. Our forum contains more discussion of the race and video stills taken throughout the race of multiple cars and incidents, including the dramatic final few seconds of the race.

Congratulations to Kazunori Yamauchi, Lucas Ordoñez and all involved in the Team GT Academy car!